This year&rsquo;s $100,000 Pinker Pinker Plate is staying local with Cranbourne trainer Cindy Alderson winning it with mare Flash Mary on Friday night.
The Waterhouse &amp; Bott-trained Supa Girl set a solid temp up front, while the eventual winner settled in the second half of the field before peeling out around the outside coming around the home turn and running over the top of them to defeat the Mike Moroney-trained mare Speak by three-quarters of a length.
With a starting price of $26, it was an upset victory from a market perspective for the daughter of El Roca, partnered by jockey Daniel Moor.
But Alderson was confident with the blinkers back on the former Kiwi could get the job done in front of her owners, who had flown across the Tasman to watch her.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really satisfying, it was a plan I had all along,&rdquo; she said.
&ldquo;Thank goodness the rain came, that certainly helped. Put the blinkers back on her and Daniel gave her a super ride and great result for everybody.
&ldquo;It was a really smart ride by Daniel, he let the speed go and he stoked her up early and she dug in deep.
&ldquo;I have to thank Brian Black and his wife Dee, who has flown all the way over from New Zealand today to see this horse race.&rdquo;
It was the five-year-old&rsquo;s first Australian win since relocating from New Zealand in the autumn, having placed in four of her six runs since joining Alderson&rsquo;s yard.
Second-up in her second Australian racing preparation, it was a marked improvement from Flash Mary, who failed to beat a runner home when racing fresh on firmer ground at Sandown in a Mares BM70 two weeks ago.
Alderson said she wasn&rsquo;t disheartened by her first-up run knowing she&rsquo;d improve on a rain-affected track up in distance.
&ldquo;This was the race I&rsquo;d hoped to win with her right from the start,&rdquo; she said.
&ldquo;Definitely knew she wanted a bit of cut in the ground. I thought her figures had been suggesting that 2000m is right up her alley.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;d also like to give a special thank you to Melissa, who works for me, she&rsquo;s done so much work with this mare. She&rsquo;s quite a quirky mare, so it&rsquo;s partly Melissa&rsquo;s win as well.&rdquo;
Despite the praise from Alderson regarding his ride, Moor admitted he&rsquo;d had to change plans early in the race when the mare settled further back.
&ldquo;Cindy would have been cursing me in the run because our plan was to go forward, but with a suicidal tempo, which I&rsquo;m not complaining about, it was beautiful to get a 10-furlong race run at a nice clip.
&ldquo;Found ourselves a long way back &ndash; I thought I&rsquo;d definitely be first three or four &ndash; but she switched off really well.
&ldquo;I was able to get Johnny Allen&rsquo;s bum in the run and drag through; probably presented a bit soon had a bit of a look around but was strong to the line after an economical run.
&ldquo;She is quirky, she&rsquo;s got tricks this horse and you&rsquo;ve sort of got to let her be her.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The jockeys wore pink breeches to ride in the Pinker Pinker Plate as part of the meeting&rsquo;s fundraising efforts for the Breast Cancer Network Australia.
More than 600 people attended an on-course event raising awareness and funds for the <a href="https://www.bcna.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BCNA</a>.
Source: <a href="https://www.racing.com/news/2023-10-14/news-review-flash-plan-pays-off-for-alderson-141023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Racing.com - Full Article Here</a>

Alderson Racing

Flash Mary Wins The Pinker Pinker Plate

Logan Bates ticked off a milestone day at Cranbourne on Thursday, celebrating his first winner in the saddle.
Bates beat his fellow apprentices when he guided the Cindy Alderson-trained Gabstar to victory in the RMBL Investments Rising Stars Race and understandably enjoyed that winning feeling.
"It was pretty satisfying, it was," Bates said.
"It's great to have Dad on course, I'm sure Mum's watching back over home in New Zealand. It's great to do it for Cindy, she's stuck by me for about four, five years now, got me to where I am.
"I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for her."
Bates explained that a career as a jockey wasn't always on the cards for him.
"I worked in greyhounds and drove trotters for a bit, not professionally and then did a little bit of carpentry," he explained.
"Once the opportunity arose for me to move over to Melbourne and become an apprentice, it was pretty hard to turn up really."
<a href="https://www.racing.com/news/2023-09-21/news-review-bates-hollowood-break-through" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Bates breaks his maiden tag</a>
Credit: Racing.com https://www.racing.com/news/2023-09-21/news-review-bates-hollowood-break-through

Logan Bates Rides His First Winner!

Cindy Alderson&rsquo;s stable star Jigsaw dominated yet another summer sprint race from the front, comfortably winning Saturday&rsquo;s $350,000 Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m) at The Valley.
Market rival Snapper ($3.70) led through the early stages, almost crossing down to the inside rail, only for Daniel Moor to drive Jigsaw ($3.10 favourite) underneath, retain his rightful running on the fence and obtain the lead.
From that position, the four-year-old Manhattan Rain gelding was never headed, striding clear to win by 2.5 lengths, adding the Australia Stakes to Listed victories earlier this campaign in the Doveton Stakes (1000m) and Christmas Stakes (1100m).
&ldquo;He (Jigsaw) has always had plenty of ability, nothing has changed at home, but what he has done is got really confident in himself; he believes in himself,&rdquo; Alderson said.
Turaath ($4.60) relished the fast early pace but peaked on his effort late for second, with Calypso Reign ($7) a further 1.5 lengths away in third.
Last-start G3 Standish Handicap (1200m) winner Snapper faded into fourth, beaten 6.25 lengths by the winner, with rider Jye McNeil convinced the gelding didn&rsquo;t perform to his best.
Moor indicated winning the tactical battle with Jigsaw, holding out Snapper inside the first 200 metres was essential in earning victory.
&ldquo;Races of small fields get technical. I wanted to make Jye (McNeil) work and it was a bit cheeky (to drive through),&rdquo; Moor said.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something I normally do, I didn&rsquo;t want the box seat, I wanted Jye to work, and it worked out to our advantage today.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got really good faith in the fact this horse runs six furlongs, he&rsquo;s won over the trip and you can over-analyse it all you want; he runs the trip.&rdquo;
Alderson remains unsure of Jigsaw&rsquo;s forthcoming schedule, but Group 1 options, the Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Sandown on February 25 and William Reid Stakes (1200m) on March 24, appear logical future assignments.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something to consider (the Oakleigh Plate), he was very strong today,&rdquo; Alderson said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nice options coming up here, including the William Reid Stakes over 1200m. Now that he&rsquo;s proven around Moonee Valley, we&rsquo;ll give that race consideration.&rdquo;
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Story Credit: Carl Di lorio&nbsp;https://www.racing.com/news/2023-01-28/news-review-jigsaw-pieces-together-stakes-win?fbclid=IwAR0OYRM7ESa2xH7_VGDVB4JmaOAUO2e7uwSc75DPDT-z91iNnpVRxW926ok&amp;mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Jigsaw Wins Group 2 Australia Stakes

The Cindy Alderson-trained Jigsaw&nbsp;not only won a second successive stakes race in taking out the Listed Christmas Stakes at Sandown, but also the first 1100-metre race run over a unique course.
Races over that distance aren&rsquo;t usually able to be run at Sandown but a temporary winning post erected 80 metres past the standard finish line had jockeys being extra attentive to their timing and Daniel Moor&nbsp;acknowledged the challenge after Jigsaw&rsquo;s win.
&ldquo;I just had to make sure he was balanced coming to the turn,&rdquo; Moor said.
&ldquo;He was running into that first bend at a rate of knots, which he can do, and he had some company but they brought themselves undone trying to bust him apart.
&ldquo;About 50 (metres) out he thought the job was done but I asked him for another effort and he was very solid through the line.&rdquo;
With the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justhorseracing.com.au/christmas-stakes">Christmas Stakes</a>&nbsp;being the middle race of the Summer Sprint Series, Cindy Alderson is instead looking further afield to the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate at Sandown over the same distance on February 25.
&ldquo;He was under siege a long way out and I was surprised how he kept finding and finding and he won by a reasonably comfortable margin in the end,&rdquo; Cindy said.
&ldquo;The horse is really at the top of his game at the moment and a fair effort to win three high-quality sprint races in a row.&rdquo;
Jigsaw&rsquo;s last outing was with winning the Listed Doveton Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield on November 26, and with the &lsquo;fresh&rsquo; approach being the key to the horse, Alderson is uncertain whether Jigsaw will step out again before the $750,000 feature.
&ldquo;It was always going to be interesting seeing him coming here today as I&rsquo;d be happier if the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justhorseracing.com.au/oakleigh-plate">Oakleigh Plate</a>&nbsp;was at Caulfield but we came here and had a look and he got the job done today.
&ldquo;He likes to be fresh, thrives on it, and maybe one more run in January.&rdquo; Source:&nbsp;https://www.justhorseracing.com.au/news/australian-racing/jigsaw-wins-a-unique-christmas-stakes/758804

Jigsaw Wins A Unique Christmas Stakes

Once a promising two-year-old, Jigsaw&nbsp;lost his way a bit towards the end of his three-year-old campaign but has come back in career-best form, winning his first race at stakes level.
The writing was on the wall first up at Cranbourne as he showed plenty of gate speed to lead, running a big new peak figure of 108 with Timeform, the first time he&rsquo;d cracked triple figures in over 14 months, and he backed it up at Caulfield.
Able to sit outside the leader with a strong northerly wind posing an issue for those without cover, jockey Daniel Moor&nbsp;who replaced Ethan Brown from Cranbourne, took over in the straight and found enough late to deny the fast-finishing Rose Quartz.
Part owner Marcus Price lauded the training effort of Cindy Alderson.
&ldquo;I think she (Cindy) was genuinely excited, she&rsquo;d upped the stakes and we thought &lsquo;it&rsquo;s another step today with some good opposition&rsquo; so we&rsquo;re delighted, today was the testing day, we can&rsquo;t be any happier.&rdquo; Price said.
The race wasn&rsquo;t without its fair share of drama, with Rainbiel&nbsp;rearing as the gates opened and losing her rider Craig Newitt. Both horse and jockey came through the incident unscathed.
Away from the early drama, Daniel Moor was happy to sit off the leader on the easing $4.20 favourite and was impressed with how Jigsaw relaxed in the run.
&ldquo;On paper there looked to be a hell of a lot of speed and not many horses can lead Yulong Command so we pretty much resigned ourselves that we wouldn&rsquo;t lead him today. My bloke&rsquo;s not aggressive at all, he&rsquo;s fast but not aggressive and we built speed gradually,&rdquo; Moor said. Source:&nbsp;https://www.justhorseracing.com.au/news/australian-racing/jigsaw-putting-the-pieces-together/755869

Jigsaw Putting The Pieces Together

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<div class="rdc-user-profile__detail">Cindy Alderson was happy to admit that she had made 'a massive mistake' with her placement of Jigsaw after he led throughout and set a course record in the process to take out the Apache Cat Classic (1000 metres) at Cranbourne on Saturday.</div>
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"I made a massive mistake thinking he could handle a bit of cut in the ground and you saw how dynamic he was on top of the ground today, it's the first time he's been on a track like this for a while," Alderson said.
Alderson told Jigsaw's rider Ethan Brown to be aggressive from barrier one and to try and lead.
"I said to him 'Don't leave any doubt here', I didn't know that he was going to hold his spot, but he did everything I asked and it was a great result," she said.
Jigsaw led throughout to win a trial at the Cranbourne on Monday and he replicated that performance five days later.
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Brown said when he saw Midwest miss the kick slightly he was happy and that helped him to lead.
"That's what this horse can do when he puts his mind on the job, he's an extremely smart horse and Cindy had him cherry ripe today," Brown said.
He said although Jigsaw tired slightly, he still won comfortably and is in for a good campaign.
"He was getting tired late which he was entitled to but he still did it with ease, which gives you a lot of confidence going forward, he's only going to take benefit from that and very exciting times ahead for Cindy and the stable with this."
Jigsaw recorded a time of 57.24 seconds to lower Don't Tell Tom's track record of 57.44s and become the fourth horse to have set a new track record on the day.
Jigsaw ($6.50) defeated Sartorial Splendour ($13) by three lengths, with Midwest ($3.10 fav) a half neck further away in third.
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Source:&nbsp;https://www.racing.com/news/2022-11-12/news-review-alderson-unlocks-key-to-jigsaw-puzzle Michael Manley<a class="rdc-user-profile__social" href="https://twitter.com/MichaelManley_1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@MichaelManley_1</a>
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